Soldier's Medal: Sgt. Adams Earns Highest Honor for Noncombat Heroism

Brig. Gen. Richard Angle pins the Soldier’s Medal on Staff Sgt. Adams, who is not being identified by his first name because of the nature of his job as a Special Forces soldier. (Derek Hamilton/U.S. ARMY)

The award is the Army's highest honor for an act of heroism shown outside of combat and was bestowed upon Adams, whose first name has not been revealed due to the nature of his work, this week in front of over 100 Special Forces soldiers and family members at Fort Bragg, Military.com said.

The incident for which he was honored occurred on the U.S. 64 highway near Asheboro. Adams was travelling along the stretch of road when he witnessed a truck veer down an embankment and collide with several trees before coming to a stop.

The soldier ran toward the fiery wreckage, which contained four people inside, not even stopping when he lost his shoes and was running barefoot on broken shards of glass, Fox News reported.

He then returned to the wreck to retrieve a third victim, who unfortunately died, and remained on scene to assist emergency and rescue workers.

The fourth victim had been ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

"The only thing I could really think about was the people in the vehicle," Adams said, according to Military.com.

Adams was commended for his bravery and courage.

"Unsure if the vehicle smoke would eventually turn into a vehicle fire, he repeatedly risked his life in order to attempt to save the lives of others," officials said when handing over the award, The Fayetteville Observer reported.

Army Maj. Crocker, acting commander of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, added that Adams "saw four of his fellow human beings in desperate need of help," according to Fox News. "And in trying to save them, proved that the Army's capacity to do good in this world is not limited to the battlefield."